By Elizabeth Pekin, Esq., Momentum Funding Founder & President

Attorneys have become household names. Personal injury attorneys have obtained celebrity status as big firms advertise on TV and billboards across the country. What sets these successful attorneys and firms apart?

A true business man or woman will become a “rainmaker” by following the rest of these simple tips in addition to the “Top 5 Tips for Running Your Law Firm Like A Business”.

• Get involved. This is the first key to building your business and your brand. In order to find the best resources for your firm, it is important to get involved in your local and state trial attorney organizations and in your community in in order to network with people who will help you get where you want and need to be. At the conferences, walk around the exhibit halls and spend time with the various legal service vendors. There are many new and exciting services and products offered by companies that can add significant value to your firm. When I have cases to refer to an attorney, I will always refer them to the attorney who spent the time to make the exhibitors and sponsors feel important. Also, getting involved in the organizations themselves is a great way to meet people and garner business. Once you are respected as a leader in your local, state or national trial attorney organizations, other attorneys will call you for advice. Setting yourself up as an expert in a particular area will result in referral business.

• Spend money to make money. In order to succeed in business you have to be a “risk-taker”. Being too conservative will never make your business thrive. It is incredibly expensive to advertise, market and promote your firm. However, spending money to market your firm will definitely result in business if the marketing dollars are spent strategically and efficiently.

• Be charitable and give back. The attorneys I have met who have successful firms are involved with their communities. Some give away turkeys to underprivileged people during thanksgiving time, some run races with their entire staffs to support charitable organizations, some sponsor Target gift giveaways at holiday time etc. Giving back will always add value to your firm and to you personally. There are many charitable organizations in your community that you can get involved with where you can make a difference in peoples’ lives. While helping others, you will also meet people who will be in need of an attorney at some point in their lives. This type of networking will benefit you personally and professionally. Organizations that focus on injured victims can benefit from your legal expertise and the financial commitment you can provide. However, hands on charitable giving is a way to connect with the public. Getting your office staff involved with the projects facilitates employee bonding and significant morale boosting to your firm.

• Find  “catchy” tag lines.  Clients will connect to a phrase, slogan or tagline that resonates. Many high-profile firms use tag lines or slogans so that the clients and general public identify with them. These slogans will also help injured victims find the firms more easily.

• Have passion. The attorneys I know have incredible passion and commitment to their practices. They work long hours and are highly responsive. I can text or call these attorneys at night and on weekends and they are always “on call”.

• Exhibit empathy. All of the attorneys feel on a deep and personal level for the pain their clients are going through.

• Work hard and play hard. All of the attorneys work around the clock and have high level work ethics and work long hours. However, they also know how to enjoy themselves and “let loose” when the time is right.

• Become a pro at networking. Successful lawyers are all incredible networkers and know how to work a room and interact with potential clients and other attorneys. Network and become friends with vendors. They are friendly and attend networking events with doctors, chiropractors and other vendors who will be treating and communicating with their clients. The attorneys need to have a comprehensive understanding of the treatment their clients will be getting. It is not what you know, but who you know. In order to run your law firm like a business it is important to have the proper people surrounding you. Since no one taught us in law school how to run a business and most of us do not have MBAs we have to learn about running a business through trial and error.  Networking through joining community organizations such as the chamber of commerce, religious organizations, or other business networking organizations will help your business grow. Everyone who attends these events is there to promote his or her business. You will meet marketing professionals, advertising groups, doctors, and other lawyers. Bring lots of business cards and practice your “elevator speech”.

Of course, practice makes perfect and with time and with some good advice, your firm can be efficient, resourceful, and profitable. Unfortunately, the days of putting up a shingle in front of a small office and waiting for the neighborhood clientele to stop by for legal advice is no longer an option. We live in a fast paced, high-tech environment. We are not taught in law school how to run a business. We are not taught how to do SEO searches, find Internet cookies, or how to run analytics to assess the success of a TV ad. However, this is the reality we are faced with. In order to succeed in a law BUSINESS it is important to be educated about all aspects of running your firm as a business.

If you have any questions about client funding, law firm loans, medical funding, small business lending, or law firm marketing and sales call Momentum Funding Founder & President Elizabeth Pekin, Esq. at 1-855-855-FUND (3863).

She and the team at Momentum Funding can assist you with all of your needs and can help YOU run your law firm like a business.